


hell was the journey but it brought me heaven

by NoGood_InGoodbye



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, No Angst, Short One Shot, folklore owns my heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25504054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoGood_InGoodbye/pseuds/NoGood_InGoodbye
Summary: "Beca wasn’t really thinking when she walked out of her dorm. She felt like sheneededto walk through the door, a little voice sounding a lot like a redheaded shower creeper telling her to take a chance."Or: Beca is reminiscing, Chloe is there with her, and a bigthank youto Taylor Alison Swift for giving me the best birthday gift with this album drop.
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	hell was the journey but it brought me heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Just a tiny li'l thing that I really wanted to post before my birthweek ends! It was supposed to be much, much longer with references to other parts of the trilogy but time constraints, y'know hahahaha (maybe i'll rewrite it. maybe the writing gods will finish it themselves 🤷♀️)
> 
> **Disclaimer:** Lightly betaed. Still don't own shit auw 😞

She remembers the crisp sound of leaves snapping under her sneakers as her fingers tapped along to an imaginary melody. The faint laughter of the younger kids in town blending with the whistle in the wind played backup vocals to the song that was building in her head.

She thinks little has changed as she leads the way towards the crooked tree she used to make songs under (the warmth in her heart and the heavy weight in her hand reminding her that maybe _some_ things have changed).

It’s a curious thing, Beca thinks. The way paths are walked and lives are changed. She always used to think that her dad leaving was the biggest change her life would ever have to experience. Yet here she is almost twenty years later, a series of big and small things leading her to this.

To the inevitability of being in love with Chloe Beale.

If there was anything Beca’s learned over the years, it’s that some things are just inevitable. As if there was an invisible string tying her heart to Chloe’s.

And Beca thinks that the soft smile on pink lips and the ring on her left hand were all pretty inevitable.

* * *

The first little tug Beca had felt was in freshman year, restless feet dragging her across the quad as she stuffed the radio station’s flyer into her back pocket. She wanted to go back to her dorm but worried her dad would still be waiting for her to return. Begrudgingly, she continued to wander aimlessly around the maze of booths, wishing time would pass faster than it felt.

She’d only been in Barden for less than a day and she already hated it. Hated not being in LA. Hated having a dad who didn’t believe in her (a dad who left). Hated having to be _here_ (judged and alone and _useless_ ).

But some of the clubs seemed interesting, and students were… enthusiastic. It was enough to keep Beca distracted from her bitter thoughts, distracted enough to notice burning red in the distance.

Beca remembered the way her footsteps slowed at the sight, the pairing of fiery hair and ocean blues distracting enough that her hands automatically took the flier before she’d even processed the redhead’s words.

She remembered blinding smiles and the warmest crinkle creasing blue eyes as something in her heart had _tugged_.

It was a strange feeling. One Beca chose to staunchly ignore as she shot a half-sympathetic, “Sorry, I—don’t even sing… but it was really nice to meet you guys.”

* * *

The second time she felt it, she was singing naked in the middle of a bathroom stall.

Well, okay. That’s a lie.

The second time she felt it, electric blue eyes were sparkling over a blinding smile as the redhead from the week before ~~asked~~ demanded, “You have to audition for the Bellas.”

(At that moment, she couldn’t decide if the tug in her chest was fear, shock, or that niggling little feeling she’d ignored back in the quad.)

Beca used the closest toiletries she could reach as covers, steely blues wide as they stared at blue eyes and tan cheeks… Then a tanned neck. Then tanned shoulders. Tanned… _oh_.

Snapping her eyes back up, Beca cleared her throat. “I can’t concentrate on anything you’re saying until you cover your junk.”

(Because quite frankly, it was a very distractingly gorgeous piece of junk.)

“Just—Consider it.” Beca could feel her heart race faster as the redhead stepped closer. Oh sweet jesus. “One time, we sang backup for Prince.”

With concentrated effort, Beca pulled on the shower curtain and tried to shield what little dignity she had left. The blood crawling up her neck (and maybe dropping a little low, too) reminded Beca to keep her eyes straight and up.

The redhead was oblivious to the freshman’s struggle. “His butt is so tiny that I can, like, hold it with one hand.”

The redhead’s exaggerated gestures knocked away the little cover she had and Beca bit back a squeal. With the curtain and bottle knocked out of her hands, Beca scrambled to turn around and cover herself (even if it meant Beca lost her view… for her escape, of course).

“ _Seriously_ ,” she held back a huff, forehead leaning on the cold bathroom tiles to hide her growing blush. “I am nude.”

“You were singing Titanium, right?”

“You know David Guetta?” Beca didn’t know why she was so surprised, but no one had cared much for music back home (and she’d never really had people to talk about music with before, either).

(She remembered trying to introduce her high school friends to some musicians who inspired her to mix and all she’d get in reply was a “yeah, I’ll check ‘em out.” (considering the way they never brought it up again, Beca figured that they never did).)

“Have I been living under a rock?” The redhead scoffed. “Yeah, that song is my jam.”

Beca’s smile grew at the admission, cold blue eyes watching the way the redhead nodded earnestly before the woman added, “My lady jam.”

Right.

Okay.

The redhead may have good music taste, but she was still a gorgeous weirdo invading her shower.

A gorgeous weirdo invading her shower who refused to leave. “I’m not leaving here until you sing, so…”

So with great reluctance (and a little swoop in her stomach), Beca sang.

And she knew that the tug in her heart was something else.

* * *

Shuffling by the entrance of an auditorium side door echoing with voices (some good, many bad, a few gifts from god), the fading notes of another rendition of _Since You Been Gone_ breaks through the pounding tempo in Beca’s ears. She didn’t want to admit she was nervous, but the beat pounding with her heart and the chilly rush through her veins made it difficult to prove otherwise.

Beca wouldn’t go as far as to call it stage fright, but there was there was a strange weight in her chest that told her this was something a little more personal than posting a playlist of her favorite songs online.

She couldn’t quite tell what made her decide to check out the acapella auditions. But one afternoon, she was wondering if her dad was serious about his offer; and the next thing she knew, she was standing in front of a brick auditorium, a DIY flier in one hand as the other tapped a jumpy beat on her leg.

She’s not sure she really thought about what she was doing, her footsteps walking the unfamiliar path towards the auditorium’s side entrance as her dad’s offer echoed distantly over the sound of a hauntingly melodic voice blending smoothly with her own. Beca wasn’t really _thinking_ when she walked out of her dorm. She felt like she _needed_ to walk through the door, a little voice sounding a lot like a redheaded shower creeper telling her to take a chance.

So Beca followed the tug in her heart and found herself walking towards an encouraging smile and the same warmth crinkling warm blue eyes. She followed the tug in her heart and it was probably the best not-decision she’s ever made.

(Beca realizes now that the feeling was inevitability. An infinity wrapped around a little string around her heart.)

* * *

The warmth in her hand flexes just the slightest, breaking Beca out of her thoughts as a strong shoulder leaned into her side.

“I can see it.” Chloe’s voice is impish, just the slightest bit teasing before she turned to face the brunette. Her red hair glowed brightly under the fading sun, burning red complimenting the golden leaves barely clinging to the branches above them.

Beca feels the tug she felt all those years ago, knowing what the little squeeze in her heart finally means (it took her a while, but she’s thankful they got here eventually).

Beca couldn’t keep the fondness out of her smile if she tried. “See what?”

Chloe shrugged, teasing grin softening to adoration. “Little Beca sitting under this tree, writing music sheets, already on her journey to take the world by storm.”

Beca scoffed, rolling her eyes as a blush spread over her cheeks. Chloe’s smile only widened back into a grin, blue eyes twinkling with the gold hanging above her, and the tug in Beca’s heart pulls and pulls and _pulls_.

It reminds her of a day that seems more like a dream than memory, of how her footsteps slowed to stop in front of the same blinding grin.

It reminds her of shower stall acoustics, heart thumping and stomach fluttering as a melody wove its way into her heart.

It reminds her of “fast friends” and _Just The Way You Are_ blending with _Just A Dream_. It reminds her of a relationship that was always second to her friendship. It reminds her of movie nights and Bella bar nights that always lead to early morning diner breakfasts. It reminds her of hidden internships and warm bonfires brightening even warmer eyes. It reminds her of skype breakups fixed with tubs of ice cream and cuddles in a bed that wasn’t hers. It reminds her of a New York apartment with only two beds for three occupants. It reminds her of the moment she finally, _finally_ listened to the constant tug in her heart.

So she follows the tug in her heart and _pulls_.

She pulls Chloe closer. Pulls her down for a kiss. Pulls her into a promise of forever.


End file.
